Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael)

I thank Mr. French. I sympathise with him on the tragic loss of his sister and commend him, for what it is worth and even if it sounds trite, on the advocacy work he has done. I am more than willing to work with him, as is and everybody else on the committee, to see how things can be improved. He has raised a number of hugely important topics.

I want to focus on one question raised by Deputy Kelly, which was how we can change the law and improve the situation to ensure that in situations like this, the children's best interests are the absolute priority. What Mr. French said in his opening statement was abundantly clear and made sense. There should be some mechanism whereby children are not put through the whole process and retraumatised, having been taken away from those who they know and love, those being their next of kin, outside of their parents. We must consider how we can go about ensuring through the agencies of this State that we make every effort to ensure that happens. It makes eminent sense, without being partisan or prejudicial in any way to the outcome of an investigation, to ensure that children's interests are prioritised. Immediate family should take on their care rather than their being taken into care. That is an important step we need to take.

Mr. French has answered the question already in response to Deputy Kelly, but what should we be doing? We should be ensuring that there is at least the possibility of a case being interpreted in such a way as to lead to what appears to Mr. French and I the obvious outcome that children would be looked after by those they know and love in the immediate aftermath of an event such as this.